1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to image forming apparatuses and methods of setting a security level in the image forming apparatuses, and particularly to image forming apparatuses having a plurality of security levels that can switch the levels optimally and methods of setting a security level in the image forming apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
As printing apparatuses are enhanced in performance, multifunction peripherals (MFPs) having a print function and in addition thereto a copy function, a scan function and a facsimile function have been implemented. While such MFPs operate in response to instructions directly received that are input via a panel or the like, they are also connected to a network and thus operate in response to instructions received that are input from another apparatus on the network. Thus allowing a large number of functions to be available to a large number of users via a network provides increased convenience.
On the other hand, allowing a large number of users to use such functions via the network increases the necessity of management of the use of the functions by the users. Accordingly, a technique employed to restrict use of a function on a network from another apparatus is disclosed for example in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No 2005-182291 More specifically, the publication discloses a server restricting provision of a function (or resource) depending on whether how the function is currently used can be monitored.
Furthermore, as the MFPs are available to a large number of users via a network, security management is also an important issue for the MFPs. A security management required includes for example:
(1) automatically reinforcing security when an administrator of the apparatus is absent, and
(2) automatically saving the power of or powering off an apparatus when no one uses it.